Bibi Quilted Jacket is a timeless garment that you will want to make again and again in lots of different fabrics. It is edged with binding and has curved side edges, two easy quilted pockets and button up fastening.

I’ve made this jacket in a lightweight denim with an African fabric lining (as shown in the top right picture) and another in a mustard cotton in an Ikat design for the outer fabric with a plain cotton lining (top left pic).

BIBI HACK The bottom picture is a Bibi HACK in a batik cotton made with a V-neck alteration and added ties instead of buttons and no binding. Scroll down to see how I did it.

Bibi is a very comfortable relaxed garment suitable for all seasons. It’s a simple make and oh so snuggly to wear.

Here are some measurements and info you will need to know from the back of the pattern.

Making the Bibi Jacket involves some simple quilting. You can choose from sewing tramlines or criss-cross quilt lines its up to you, both are marked out on the pattern. Of course, you could make your own style of quilting lines- or even go freestyle, or why not make a jacket from a piece of patched fabric? Maybe you were going to make a quilt but never quite made it that far. Why not use it for something to wear?

LETS TALK WADDING!

Ok, so you can buy pre-quilted fabric, but its so much more fun to create your own. You can use just about any type of medium/lightweight fabric for the outer and lining. Remember that it doesn’t want to be too heavy- think light!

Here are some examples of wadding that Ive used….

1. Vilene H640/H630 fusible Fleece (loft)- its fusible, made of polyester, very practical because you can just iron it on, but it is on the pricey side, as its not very wide (36″). You would probably need about three metres depending on size. You can get this from Empress Mills.
2. 2oz Polyester wadding– cheap as chips and a good alternative- use spray textile glue to fix in place or lots of tacking, with a wide width (54″). You would probably need a couple of metres of this depending on size. You can get from Empress Mills .
3. Quilting batting such as a basic ‘warm & white’ polyester one is a great alternative as its usually very wide you wont need as much. This one ‘Soft & Bright’ available from Empress Mills is 90″ wide so probably 1.5m would suffice depending on size. This one is much thicker and heavier than the other two and not so easy to work with but still makes a good jacket.

HOW TO MAKE THE BIBI JACKET

SEAM ALLOWANCE IS 1CM (3/8″)

First cut out the fabric pieces from the pattern templates. Mark out the quilt lines with chalk or a fabric marker. Fuse the wadding or fusible fleece to the reverse side of each piece (Fronts, Back, Sleeves and Pockets).

Stitch along the lines with a longer stitch length (2.8mm). Stitch on the right side of the fabric to secure the two layers together. Quilt all the pieces backed with wadding.

QUILTING THE FABRIC

POCKETS

Lay the pocket lining together with the pocket, right sides facing together. Sew all around, leaving an opening on the short side edge of approx 4cm (1 1/2″). Trim across the seam allowance corners. Nick the curved seam allowances. Turn inside out through the opening. Press, pushing out all the edges from the inside with a poking tool. Hand sew up the side opening.

Repeat with the second pocket and lining.

Pin the pocket to the jacket front. See the Pocket position on the template.

Topstitch the Pocket 1cm away from the outer edge all around leaving the top edge open. Press. Repeat with the other Pocket.

Join the shoulder edges with the right sides together. Press the seam allowances towards the back. Topstitch.

Join the side edges of the front and back below the armhole to the notch. Press the seam allowances open.

SLEEVES

Fold the Sleeve piece in half aligning the long vertical raw edges. Pin. Sew. Press the seam allowances open.

With the right sides facing together, insert the sleeve to the armhole, aligning the raw edges and the back and front sections. Pin. Hand tack. Sew.

Topstitch the sleeve seam. Repeat with the other sleeve.

LINING

SEW THE LINING FRONT TO BACK AT THE SHOULDER EDGES. ATTACH THE SLEEVES IN SAME WAY AS BEFORE WITH THE OUTER FABRIC.

INSERT THE LINING INTO THE OUTER JACKET WRONG SIDES TOGETHER. PIN ALL AROUND MATCHING UP THE RAW EDGES.

Machine tack around the raw edges to secure the three layers together.

BUTTONHOLES

Mark out the buttonholes in position as shown on the template. Sew the five buttonholes. Tip: make a ‘practise’ buttonhole with a leftover piece of the three layer fabric. When you are happy with the size compared to the buttons, use this to mark out the starting point each of the buttonhole positions so that its centre aligns with the jacket centre (as shown by the notch at the neck centre front). Sew the buttonhole away from the centre front raw edge.

BINDING

Using a binding tape maker tool, fold over the edges of the binding. Use pre-made binding if preferred. Pin the binding to the raw edge, starting at the shoulder seam. Sew all around. Fold the binding over to the reverse side. Press. Pin. Hand tacking really helps to secure the edge before hand stitching all around. Sew the binding edge by hand on the reverse side with small over-stitches to secure the edge all around.

Tip: When you reach the side seam, trim the binding with a small fold under at the far end, then start again on the back with a new binding piece, folding it under at each side seam.

Attach the cuff binding to the cuff edges in the same way as before.

Sew on the five buttons.

And off you go!

BIBI HACK

Make Bibi with a V-neck, gives your jacket has a ‘Kantha’ feel about it. With this hack I adjusted the pattern for a V-neck, omitted the buttons and added ties, and stitched in the lining without any binding attached except just around the cuffs. I think it looks great and certainly easier if you fear making buttonholes and binding.

ADJUSTING THE PATTERN FOR A V-NECK

Now trim the V-neck from the front pieces of the outer piece and the lining, using the new template.

INSERTING THE TIES

Make two ties (one each side) by cutting a 70cm long piece of binding from the binding template. Sew down one long raw edge and across the two short edges with a 1cm seam allowance, leaving a small 2cm opening at the centre . Turn the tie inside out through the opening. Push out the corners. Press. Cut into two equal pieces of 35cm.

Pin one tie (or two) to the left hand centre front vertical edge aligning the raw edges. Tack stitch within the seam allowance.

Pin the second tie to the opposite side but this time 4cm from the edge with the tie extended leftwards. Sew across the raw edge end, then fold over and stitch again so that the tie end raw edges are encased and hidden.

INSERTING THE LINING WITHOUT BINDING

With the right sides facing together and the ties extended inwards away from the edge, pin the outer and lining together aligning the shoulder and side seams and all around the outer edge. Sew a 5mm (1/4″) seam allowance all around. Snip into the curved seam allowances and also cut into the V at the sides as far as you can go without cutting the stitching to minimise it bunching up.

Bag out the jacket either through one sleeve or through an opening made in the side seam with a stitch ripper. Give it a good press. Pin all around the outer edge so that no lining is visible from the front side. Topstitch all around.

Attach binding to the cuff in the same way as specified in the pattern. Alternatively, if you have an overlocker and want a quick hemming method, just overlock the cuff and cuff lining raw edges together, then turn under once and stitch down. Personally I think it looks better to bind it.

So there you have it!- A lovely Bibi jacket V-neck style with ties. Please comment below to have your say.

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